Mayor Rob Ford’s startling admission Tuesday — “Yes, I have smoked crack cocaine” — came after months of dodging and ignoring questions about his drug use and a video in which he appears to be smoking a crack pipe.

In May, he said “these allegations are ridiculous,” and stated “I do not use crack cocaine, nor am I an addict of crack cocaine.”

Attempting to explain Tuesday why he had withheld the admission for months, Ford claimed reporters had not asked him “the correct questions.”

In fact, the question, “Have you ever smoked crack cocaine?” has been directly posed to the mayor countless times.

It was asked on the front page of the Toronto Star on Monday.

That same question was printed on the front page nearly six months ago, when news of the video first broke in the Star and on the American website Gawker.com.

The Star offered Ford and his staffers 14 opportunities to respond to the story before the first story was published on May 17.

Toronto Star city hall bureau chief Daniel Dale said he has asked the mayor whether he has used crack cocaine many times, and that Ford has “always” ignored the question. Other Star reporters who have asked the mayor if he has ever smoked crack include Kevin Donovan, Robyn Doolittle, Laura Kane, Kim Nursall and Wendy Gillis.

For a video of Daniel Dale asking Mayor Rob Ford whether he used crack while in office, click here.

The Star has also put the question to Ford and his staff in writing numerous times, with no response.

The mayor was asked directly about drugs again on Monday morning, when radio host John Oakley asked the mayor twice if he had ever used crack. Ford responded: “I’m not a drug addict … I’m not an alcoholic,” and later said, “I can assure you, Johnny, I do not use drugs; I drink.”

One day earlier, during his Sunday Newstalk 1010 radio show with his brother, Councillor Doug Ford, a caller asked the mayor directly what drugs he had ever “ingested through a glass pipe.” Ford didn’t answer the question.

In his first statement Tuesday, Ford said he was “probably in one of my drunken stupors” when he smoked crack and that the drug use had occurred about a year ago.

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